Disclaimer: I don't, and never will, own Yu Yu Hakusho.
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Ta-la-la, what can I say? Nothing really. Anyways, you came for the story, correct? That's what you'll get. First off, however, is the reviews! So, thank you;
What2callmyself: Yay! You think it's interesting? That's a plus. Heya to you, too. Updated . . . now!
Kari the Shadow Goddess: Here's the update. I'm very happy that you enjoyed.
YokoYoukai: You think so? Yes, I will say that the bat is Kuronue, but as for your other question . . . You'll have to wait to find out. I love to say that . . . :)
Agent Dark Moose: You never know, you're predictions may very well be the way the story will unfold. However, since most of this is still a mystery even to myself, who knows? Have to wait and see/read . . .
Reviews, my almost favorite subject on ff . net. ::smiles sweetly::
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WARNING:
1. This story will contain Shonen-Ai in later chapters (will be mild), if you don't like it, don't read it.
2. Rated for reasons: Language and future scenes (blood, etc.)!
You have been warned!
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CAPTURED
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Youko snuck through the halls of the castle with expert maneuvers. Kuronue was right behind him, watching and following the kitsune's movements carefully as to not tip off the guards littering the ground.
"They should really clean up all this trash," The bat murmured to his partner in crime, motioning to while stepping around the sleeping oni's acting as guards, "It doesn't make for the best kind of demon on patrol, does it?"
"No," The fox agreed, extending a slender finger to touch one of the side entrances to the castle, "they had a short notice alert though, didn't they?" He smirked slightly as his finger connected with the door and burnt the tip of the flesh.
Slowly licking his newly acquired wound, Youko turned around the bat, "They're trying to stop us from getting in. Won't you open the door for me?"
"Gladly." Kuronue slipped a hand into his garments and pulled out a strange looking blob of metal. As he neared the door, the blob took on the shape of a key and fit perfectly into the hole in the exact middle of the door.
As the key turned and unlocked the door, the barrier keeping them from getting in evaporated into the night sky in a misty grey haze.
"Think they'll notice a dark cloud floating by their windows?" The chimera asked looking up at the mass of smoke above his head, "It's not common to see floating clouds around here."
"Don't worry about it, it won't affect our plans." Youko said, taking a step into the corridor awaiting them from behind the door, "What infinite baka's. They didn't even post a guard here. I'm insulted! Don't they know who exactly is going to rob them tonight?"
The bat emerged beside the fox's pouting face, "Obviously not."
"So it would seem. We'll just give them a surprise when we leave, won't we?"
"Hai." The two grinned as they continued their quest inside the halls of the castle to find their treasure.
Just a few hours later, Youko and Kuronue were perched on a cliff, looking at the castle from a distance. The kitsune turned to the bat and gave him a lopsided grin, "Think they're awake yet?"
Kuronue turned his gaze to the stony castle below them, "Should be."
The fox nodded slightly then stretched out his ki to reach the stony walls that they robbed the night before. As his youki found its intended receiver, a resounding 'boom' followed by anguished screams and rocks flying in all directions was heard and seen.
The castle was gone.
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- - - - - - - - - - (( Part Four :: Glimpsed )) - - - - - - - - - -
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His teeth grinded against each other in a most annoying fashion as the koorime halfling sped through the trees. The fox was proving to be a hard bastard to locate. His jagan was rendered powerless to the foxes own acute mental abilities, which weren't weakening down any time in the near future.
It didn't help him that the many lost demons, and a handful of extremely lost few ningens, didn't know a thing about the foxes whereabouts. Wondering around the Kuro Mori was most irritating. It's dark depths and assortment of all plants didn't help his situation.
Especially since half of them had tried to take a chunk out of his legs. There was a reason he hated forests, and this was it. Especially woods called 'Dark Forest,' which wasn't an inviting title.
Not that Hiei was scared or anything, an assumption like that was absolutely absurd. However, running around a bunch of trees while trying not to be eaten, while also trying to locate the most devious kitsune in all Makai history was getting old, very fast.
It didn't help that the infamous Youko Kurama was the god of thieves, seduction, and also extremely cunning.
Maybe he could trace the foxes youki instead. Where he had stepped in a forest was bound to have left traces of his ki. The kitsune's major mastery was of the earth and plant life. Hiei growled deeply, he hated plants. Shoving a hand into his pocket, he produced the rose the youko had left him during their first encounter.
Hiei glared various daggers at it. It still refused to die, even when he tried to burn it to a crisp. This only proved that the fox was powerful enough to resist his flames. Damn foxes, weren't plants supposed to be weak of fire and burn down to toast?
At least he had another way to fight; his katana. It was securely attached to his side, Hiei never went anywhere without it. You never knew when fire-resistant plant controlling baka kitsune's were bound to turn up, now did you?
Hardly.
Hiei trained his jagan on the rose, locking onto the feel of the youki it emitted. It was . . . not surprisingly green in color. That wasn't the only color though, it was littered with all colors. The jaganshi frowned, he was going after some kind of thief subject to . . . mood swings. What fun! Not. Still, green, with silver, were the dominate colors. At the moment, it was calm, deathly calm. Like a thin, straight, line.
Getting the feel of the youki in his mind, Hiei searched the whole forest for other traces of Youko Kurama's energy. Scanning the forest floors, trees, holes, everything, he finally found a trace. Smirking slightly at his findings, the koorime took off in the direction of the energy.
He leapt through the trees, using his katana to hack down any branches that tried to stop him. He was coming up close, just a kilometer or two away and he would be back to tracking the fox.
Well, he would have if the energy traces hadn't just disappeared.
"What the hell?" Hiei fumed, landing where he had just felt the ki. "Where happened to the damn youki?!"
Throwing his katana to the ground, he examined the rose yet again carefully with his jagan. Kicking a stone out of his way, the fiery koorime set a nearby tree on fire. The youki from the rose wasn't that calm anymore. Now it was showing genuine interesting . . . it didn't matter.
Letting his third eye get the new mood of the youki, Hiei checked the spot he was standing in again. The youki traces were there.
"Damn fox!" He swore colorfully, "Damn, baka, mood changing fox!"
"I'm rather insulted," Murmured a voice from behind, "I'm not that stupid, you know. Even if I do tend to swing my moods around. That's none of your business, little fire koorime."
Hiei spun around, glaring at a pair of glittering golden eyes, "Fucking kitsune."
"I won't comment on that one . . ." The youko said lightly.
"N-" Hiei went to insult the fox once more, but saw he wasn't there anymore. The kitsune had simple vanished.
"Not again," Hiei moaned, hitting himself in the head with his fist. Shaking his head briefly, he bent over to pick up his katana.
He glared at the rose still clutched in his hand. "Why won't you die?!" said hi desperately trying to make the flower combust into red sparks.
"Die! Die, die, die!"
As Hiei continued to glared and shout death threats to the utterly harmless, not county thorns, rose seemed the grow all the brighter, it's previously ruffled petals smoothing out to once again be silky and perfect.
Also, as he stamped his foot on the rose, he noticed at mood that never swayed from the foxes youki.
Curiosity.
"Aha! Baka kitsune!" Hiei slid his katana carefully back into it's sheath and prepared to launch back into the trees using the foxes never dying wonderment to ultimately destroy him. Whatever this Karasu guy was going to do to the youko wasn't going to pretty, or nice. No doubt the fox would hate himself forever.
Something caught Hiei's eye though. It was something black. Whether it was a bat or a crow, he couldn't quite tell with Kuro Mori's darkness slicing his vision. It was watching him attentively, taking in all his movements.
Hiei's ruby eyes narrowed as he looked on at the thing looking at him.
It clicked in his brain that it was a messenger. That relayed his movements to the Karasu or Korunue guy.
This angered him, didn't they trust him enough to get through a job without their supervision? Trust . . . well, he didn't exactly blame them, no such thing existed in Makai. Would ever trust a demon? Or a thief, murderer, drunk, or whatever?
The corners of his mouth tilted up slightly as the 'thing' burst up in flames, which came to and littered the ground in a array of red, orange, and yellow sparks.
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Authors Notes: Short? Um, yes, terribly short. I know I said I was going to try to make this chapter longer, but a shower is calling my name and school's going to prevent any typing, or working, on my stories during the week. At least now you can have something to start off you week, right? You'll get a longer chapter next time, I swear! Really, I do! Promise. :)
Please will you ::begs:: review ever-so-kindly?
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Eveligne